Upcoming Publication: Book of Mormon ARTbook

  

 

When asked about my favorite book, I can honestly say it’s The Book of Mormon. It has provided me unparalleled guidance and understanding throughout my life. Because of that, I am grateful to be able to contribute two illustrations to the Book of Mormon ARTbook, an art companion to the 2024 Book of Mormon Come Follow Me curriculum.

Reflections on the Impact of AI on the Art World: Challenges and Opportunities

Around the turn of the millennium, as personal computers developed the capability to run more advanced programs, the art and illustration markets experienced a revolution. Programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Corel Paint suddenly enabled artists to create images at an unprecedented speed and scale. However, the impact of these technological breakthroughs also brought new challenges. The influx of new artists and the speed of production led to increased competition and decreased pay across much of the illustration industry.  Artists were forced to adapt to new mediums and expectations. 

Fast forward to today, and the art world is once again being shaken by digital technology, this time with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creation of art. With AI art generators, anyone can now create art with just a few words. This technology has ignited a deluge of new debates and controversies regarding the nature of art and originality.

Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show

Between 2005 and 2013, I had the privelege of contributing art to twenty-two issues of Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. Sadly, the online magazine printed its final issue in 2019. It will be missed. Below are a few of the illustrations I created for the magazine.

Beskar Vader

© 2020 Kevin Wasden

What if Vader wore Beskar armor?  And, what if Vader wielded the Dark Saber and led the Mandalorians?  That, I believe, would be an interesting story.

A Giraffe in a Hat and Suit with a touch of Magritte

Obviously, I have been a poor blogger.  I am working on my Master in Education, serving as a Scoutmaster, teaching high school, and doing my best to spend some quality and quantity time with my wife and children.  Unfortunately, in a world of finite time, something has to give, and in this case, it has been drawing and painting.  Luckily, I found some time to work on this giraffe painting this past week.  I painting is designed to be printed on a skateboard, which may or may not actually happen.  The medium is oil over acrylic.  The poor fellow hasn't received a title yet, and I am open to suggestions.

Snow Elf

Today, I introduced my drawing students to the process of illustration, specifically concept development.  I have a small container of nouns and another of adjectives. My students pick one word from each container, then combine them to create a random concept, from which they must develop ten rough sketches.  I decided to work along with them this morning.  My concept? "Mad Winter".  I began with several rough sketches of a grumpy winter king, explored dragon-like ice creatures, and then wrapped up with some thumbnails sketches of a snow queen standing on a high peak overlooking a snow covered mountain range.  I then drew one more, not so angry, but winter inspired.  This one interested me most, so in my painting class I took a few minutes to put some acrylic paint on it, as seen here.  The sketch is about 4 inches tall.  And it has me hooked. I want to create a large painting based on the sketch.  Hopefully tomorrow I can prep a canvas or a board and get it ready to paint.  I'll try to post updates.

Latest work for IGMS

It's really nice to hear from an author that I did well on an illustration for his story.  Today I received just such a message from Lon Prater, whose story "This Is My Corporation, Eat", was just published in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show.  It's a well written and creative story that explores the over-commercialization of religion.  Here is the illustration.  And, of course, I recommend you check out Intergalactic Medicine Show for this story and others.